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Year of the blog: Day # 9 - NATIONAL MILK DAY

January 11th, 2018

Day #9



Raise a glass to milk!

Hi, my name is Mariann and I have an interesting diet that I am expected to follow due to health issues. My diet includes being gluten and lactose free, as well as reducing foods with corn product, acidic foods, spicy foods, and red meats. Needless to say, I am terrible at following through. Before you ask no, I do not have an intolerance. These are just a sensitivities that I've been stuck with for the past two years (officially).

My sensitivities are very similar to those of intolerance, except I get intense, sharp pains that transmit across my torso and vomit. Sometimes, if I eat enough of these products, I can be bed-ridden.

It is important to know about the common symptoms associated with lactose intolerance, particularly as they can manifest at any stage in life and therefore you could be experiencing these symptoms unaware of the cause. The level to which you react to lactose in your system will vary in each person. A friend of mine is lactose intolerant, but is able to eat certain cheeses such as parmesan and goats’ cheese, but gets extremely ill from milk and yoghurts. This is because certain cheeses like these, and also Greek yogurt, contain probiotics that help to digest the lactose in these foods. Being extremely sensitive however, I am unable to do this, and therefore I try avoid all dairy products that contain lactose. 

Since my Doctor has insisted on this change, I’ve become much more interested in what food I eat and especially determined to ensure my everyday diet is healthy (although, there are many days that I fail - and I will get to that). It has forced me to take notice of all the ingredients in food and become aware of the detrimental effects that dairy products can have on our body. You may be surprised to learn that the human digestive system is not designed to naturally digest lactose and that is why many nutritionists and health experts will urge you to cut out large portions of dairy from your diet if you are looking to become healthier.

It is okay to fail, and it is something that I have been learning about the past (almost) three years. It's been a winding road of being on target and falling off track. There are somedays (most days) that I go out, and see something on the menu that I want. I ask the waitress, who looks into details for me, and they come back saying that there are no substitutes and I end up just getting it anyways. When I go grocery shopping, 'normal' products that contain lactose/gluten etc are much more inexpensive compared to the products that I should be buying. However, I must say that the world is catching up slowly to cater to those who need supplementary foods for their diet.

Today is national milk day, and I do not really know why I decided to share about my lactose sensitivity besides the fact that my friend, Jessica, gave me the idea. Maybe to just educate you on a small part of milk that impacts my life, or to just get you thinking about the many wonders of milk. 


SIDE NOTE:

A big thank you to the cows, goats, almonds, cashews, soy, farmers and all other parts of the milk industry. 

- M

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